The D850 is Nikon's best video camera yet, but it's not ideal for video novices

What's it like to use D850 as a video camera?

Despite there being a mirror between the sensor and the thing you're trying to film, the D850 is a pretty capable video camera

SLRs weren't really designed for video but, thanks to the pioneering work of the Canon 5D Mark II, it's increasingly expected to be a feature they offer. Nikon has struggled more than its big rival in this respect, not helped by a reliance on contrast detect AF and a lens mount designed around the assumption that you'd never need to change aperture while taking a shot. It's also been somewhat held back by not having a camcorder or broadcast equipment division to lean on during the development process.

Despite all these hurdles, the D850 is the company's most capable video camera yet, with 4K capture taken from the full width of the sensor. But how videographer-friendly is accessing this capability? And, just as importantly for this do-everything super camera, what's it like to use for stills shooters, such as wedding photographers and photojournalists who're increasingly being asked to capture clips as well as stills?

Features

Beyond the headline specs: 4K UHD capture from the full sensor width or 1.5x crop and slow mo 1080 from 120 fps capture, Nikon has added a host of features to make video capture easier.

The most obvious of these features is the addition of focus peaking to help indicate the plane of focus as you shoot. As is fairly common, there are three settings for peaking intensity and a choice of four colors. In addition, there's a zebra-style highlight warning for setting exposure. But, as we'll see, having a feature and having it well implemented are not always the same thing.

Having a feature and having it well implemented are not always the same thing

Other features include a Flat Picture Control color profile, which uses a low-contrast tone curve to avoid clipping to black as aggressively as the standard stills profiles do. Some users have tried to create Log or psuedo-Log profiles using Nikon's Picture Control Utility software, but we've not had a chance to test any of these yet, and we've not heard of any attempts to build LUTs to simplify the grading process.

There are some other nice touches, too. The camera records its starting aperture and ISO setting along with other shooting metadata such as Picture Style and D-Lighting setting with each clip. This is something you take for granted as a stills shooter, but without any widely-adopted equivalent of the EXIF standard, it's still pretty rare for the kinds of hybrid stills/video cameras we usually encounter.

The experience

The experience doesn't always live up to the promise that this list of video-friendly features might imply. Sadly, it's the headline features that fail first.

The D850 has focus peaking but it can't be used when you're shooting 4K. Or when you're using electronic stabilization. Or Slo-Mo mode. Or when you've got highlight warnings engaged. Or in combination with Active D-Lighting. Which, in my experience, isn't that different from not having focus peaking at all.

The highlight warnings are a lot better. They're easily engaged* via the touchscreen and persist across the different view modes (grid view, histogram, audio meters, virtual horizon) as you cycle through them. They're fairly simplistic, though, only indicating areas brighter than the threshold, so they can't be set to indicate regions that are roughly 75% for Caucasian skin tones, for instance. Also, this threshold is specified in 8-bit brightness values, not IRE %, as is more common.

Then, of course, there's video autofocus, which is every bit as bad as you'd expect of a system designed around contrast detection using lenses that weren't. It's jumpy and indecisive, even when asked to pull focus between two stationary objects.

However, the touchscreen access to many key settings is very good, allowing you to adjust the audio capture on-the-fly without the need for any noise or vibration-creating button presses.

Better still is the option to use the two buttons on the camera's front plate to adjust either exposure compensation (if you're using Auto ISO to maintain brightness in manual exposure mode) or Power Aperture, the smooth, motor-driven aperture control mode. These buttons are easily accessible as you shoot, without causing too much camera shake.

What does this end up meaning?

For experienced videographers, none of these are issues you can't work around to one degree or another. Planning shots to minimize the need to refocus or 'blocking' a shot so that any movement is predictable are pretty basic techniques. When working this way, using magnified live view or tap-to-focus single AF to set initial focus then using the lens distance scale to judge movement may be enough.

Alternatively, adding on an external recorder will often bring much more powerful versions of Zebra and Peaking tools where the D850 fumbles, as well as features such as waveforms and false color that are vanishingly rare on hybrid cameras anyway.

Videographers are likely to appreciate the features gained from Nikon's well-polished stills interface

The camera's HDMI output is limited to an 8-bit 4:2:2 stream, so there won't be a big hike in quality, but the videographer willing to experiment with homebrew Log-like profiles will no doubt find it a very capable camera. Ultimately, the D850's video quality is easily good enough to make these sorts of workarounds worthwhile.

Videographers are also likely to appreciate the degree to which the video side of the camera has gained from Nikon's well-polished stills interface. Hold the ISO button and the rear dial changes ISO while the front toggles Auto ISO, hold the WB button down when one of the camera's 6 (!) Custom WB values is selected and you can set a new custom value at the tap of the rear controller. It's pretty slick when you're out and shooting.

For stills shooters

For the less experienced video shooter the D850 is likely to be quite a handful, though. Without usable autofocus, you'll need to learn how to manual focus and minimize the need to, to work around the camera's shortcomings. This makes it challenging for anyone who can't control or choreograph the action, which is likely to include exactly the sort of wedding photographers and photojournalists who might be attracted to the D850.

However, you won't need to learn too much about video exposure in order to make use of highlight warnings and the simple aperture control on the camera, beyond basics such as the 180 degree shutter 'rule.'

This is helped by at least one feature we've been requesting for many years: the camera retains two banks of shooting settings, one for stills, one for video. This means you can specify a custom white balance and color profile and choose exposure settings (including ISO behavior) for video, then jump back to your stills settings at a moment's notice.

In a clever piece of design, you can even define a button let you check your stills settings, while you're shooting movies, so you need never be caught out. But this two-setting design is perfect for wedding shooters, who can hit the shutter button to shoot a grabbed still, fractions of a second after capturing some video footage, without the risk of everything looking, well, a bit Flat.

It's also worth noting that the "e-stabilizer" mode that's available when shooting 1080 footage is very impressive, making on-the-go handheld shooting a realistic proposition. Better still, its resolution is near indistinguishable from the unstabilized variety, so you can shoot both and intercut at will.

Overall, then, there's a lot to like about the D850 and Nikon deserves recognition for putting a lot of thought and effort into making its video capture better. However, it does little to make video any easier to shoot for video novices in a way that Canon's Dual Pixel AF system does. For now, at least, you still need to build up plenty of videography experience to work your way around the D850's wobbly AF and occasional quirks.

*There's currently a fun glitch by which, if you move to 4K mode but leave focus peaking on, you lose access to all the features it's incompatible with, such as highlight warnings. There are no clues to why they're unavailable, you just have to drop back down to 1080 mode, disengage peaking, then move back to 4K to regain access. [Back to text]

I recently tested my D850 against a friends Panasonic GH5. I had the D850 on iso 64 and he set his camera to what he believes is its best settings (I think it was 400 iso but with a very flat profile). To both our surprise the D850 had noticeably less noise in the shadows to the GH5 and once the footage was graded in Resolve to my eye had a very pleasing image. This result surprised us both as the GH5 is known as a very capable video camera. I think the D850 could prove to be a popular camera for those people who love low noise in their video. One tip if your worried about manual focus and you come from Cinema lenses or Canon world. The Sigma Nikon mount lenses manually focus in the same direction as Canon/cinema lenses.

I believe that most of the FF DSLR's will perform better than 4/3rds sensors, especially in low light, and higher ISO's. That's why the FF DSLR became so popular for budget minded Cinema shooting. Canon did not plan it that way, but I'll bet there happy that the trend became what it is today.

What effect on the industry did the D90's 720p have on the industry? None that I observed. The 5D II became the de facto DSLR for film makers and is the reason the 5D series is still taken seriously for video, despite them having rather fallen behind their rivals.

I wrote our D90 review and probably wrote our launch content for it. I'm aware that it beat the 5D II to the market by a couple of days, but it's the Canon that did the pioneering work of establishing DSLR as video cameras.

Being a video manufacturing company Canon never thought to put video into DSLR! But being a non-video company Nikon put it first through D90, whatever may be the format! Nikon is the true pioneer of video in DSLR! Till Nikon invented, Canon was sleeping, though they had the knowhow! Nikon is always a pioneer in most of the inventions, even earlier too!

Given that cameras take around two years to develop, yet the EOS 5D II (with its higher video spec) was launched within three weeks of the D90, it's mad to discuss it as if one was a response to the other. They would have been developed in parallel. Nikon launched first but the 5D II made the impact.

Your point was that Canon "never thought" of putting video into a DSLR, which Richard duly answered.The article says "pioneering work", not who was first with what. I don't even know what the first camera with digital video was!

AF in video is much more important than for stills. Unless you are doing some hollywood production, there is no reason not to have a reliable video AF in 2017. This Nikon model is basically useless for most non- and semi-pro applications outside of controlled studio environment. The quality of footage should always be secondary to AF performance.

Boy do I beg to differ! The percentage of pro cinematographers who rely on AF is a drop in the bucket compared to the overwhelming majority of pro photographers who absolutely must have reliable AF to do their job.

On sensor AF(preferably dual-pixel variant) is essential for casual video (non fully equipped video rig). The D850 lacks the feature. Maybe in the next iteration. After that Nikon can talk about going mirrorless. Yay!

I can't see the advantage, for regular use, of making a significantly smaller FX body. I would love a small mirror-less body, as a backup for travel, but I can't see a real market for it. As long as the lenses still need to be bigger, then the body might as well be a good size and weight to make them comfortable and ergonomic to use.

While this is true for the faster and longer lenses, the wider and slower you go, the more weight / size you can save. The Sony 12-24 f/4 is about a pound lighter than the Sigma 12-24 f/4. The same goes for the Loxia and Batis primes, versus the Milvus or Sigma Art primes.

I'm all in favor of a full-frame mirrorless body that is as big and heavy as a Nikon D750 or Canon 6D, as long as the mirrorless weight comes in the form of a bigger battery. That's what I hope Canon and Nikon are smart enough to do.

But imagine a mirrorless camera as big and heavy as a D850 or 5D4? No reason for a mirrorless camera to be that big and hefty.

D850 is also not for beginners. Very wrong title for this articles. What? Canon 5D M3 (i have one) is for beginners? Also: after 1 month experience that beginners will be not "beginners", and what again? they mu7st buy new camera in different period of learning or using cameras? Fact is: who want video, they must buy special video cameras. Otherwise who will buy this top pro cameras for shoot video of family sometimes somewhere?

Cameras for beginner videographers aren't rebels nor d3300. They start usually at a 1k dolar used body (GH4, a6300, A7s) and those who have more budget a GH5, A7sII. Those videographers might work with a photographer in order to make videos of weddings and won't have a focus puller, they're recording unexpected events (I mean not arranged like a film). For those videographers, peaking, zebras, logs and all those video stuff is important, more than a bit of extra sharpness because of the new sensor.

To learn video, start by buying a real video camera so that when the time comes to shoot for money, you can step up to pro camcorders and will already know how they work. How do I know? I dinked around shooting video for a couple of years on a Nikon DSLR and though the footage was exquisite looking, once I started moving to longer projects, keeping clips organized, dealing with the audio files, and editing became somewhat problematic. Based on my painful experience, a good beginner video camera for a photographer would be the least-expensive possible used 1-inch Sony, Panasonic, or Canon camcorder with the criteria that it has speed-controllable autofocus, anti-shake, proper XLRs, a reasonable codec, and timecode. These are all features that help you shoot and edit more efficiently while you're working on adapting to video. A year, tops, you'll be ready for that Red, or you can shoot with DSLRs and thanks to your camcorder experience you'll have developed good video workhabits.

And yet I see lots of beginners buying pro cameras, because some of them have lots of disposable income and try to acquire the best equipment that money can buy, only to realize that a lot of pro (and even semi-pro) equipment is quite complicated if they don't know what they're doing.

I don't think any pro-sumer camera (Nikon, Canon, etc) is good for beginners. Start with something like a mid-range Nikon (such as the D5600) or a Canon Rebel T6 or one of the crop-sensor models). Then work your way into a "bigger" camera, so to speak. Most people I know ended up selling their first camera within 1-3 years of getting it and upgrading to something better (if they didn't just go for the high end models from the start). I know a few people in my photography groups that get suckered into getting a D810 or something like that, and have no clue how to operate it, such as changing ISO for example. (it is sort of funny because when I have to change ISO and focusing modes on an entry-level Nikon, I sometimes have to look it up on Google as I have forgotten which menu to use--I've gotten spoiled (and I think others would agree) by having all the buttons I need on the top & back of the camera. I also don't do video though, so I can't speak for those using cameras for video.

A dedicated video camera is in a lot of cases so much easier and practical. The real benefit for me of a DSLR video functionality is that you can switch very quick between high resolution still image making and video for short clips.

Many people think that if they buy the best camera in the market, they ll be better photographers, therefore that's not true. U need to know how to use your camera and how photography works like, ISO and white balance and thinga like that and then think about buy a better work to make your photography better.

No (well, it wouldn't surprise me if it outdid the GH5 in low light), but those are all video-centric cameras. None of those will even come close to the D850 in stills, and that's the kind of compromise some people will prefer.I don't see any film makers moving to the D850, that's just not going to happen. But it'll be an excellent tool for people to shoot some video on the side.

From what I have read, the D850 can give very good quality video, but not 'easy' video, a bit like a modern version of the 5D2.The problem with most 'easy' video is I often find it unwatchable, not just the quality, but also the lack of thought that has gone into it. As an example, I have a 5D2 where I prefocus and use a tripod. It has limitations but produces good results. I also have an iphone 6S which is super easy to use with good e-stabilization, but for the most part I feel like I'm just cluttering up my hard drive with junk I'll never watch.

Even though Hollywood pros don't use AF for their films, there's a reason why Canon's Dual Pixel AF is often talked about: if you want to track a single person walking toward or away from the camera, why not just let the camera do it for you? It's a great option to have that can be turned off when you want focus to be static or off-subject. It's especially useful for unplanned street shots where the subjects don't go to specified spots and thus harder to manually focus. Think a parkour shot at wide apertures.

I myself used to be a hardcore manual-focus-only guy because I felt AF in video was amateurish, but in the simple shots, having good, reliable continuous AF makes life much easier.

Unlike in photography, where the equipment and imagination are provided by a single person, good video is usually a collaborative effort, that is expensive and takes massive planning. For the remaining seven billion human beings, having a camera that can AF like a pro is a huge bonus, as is having good footage and shooting aids easily at their disposal.So, instead of acting like a spoiled child, sandy, why not just recognize that 99,99% of people can and will benefit from better automated features?PS: Also, the Sony sensor inside your D850 was developed by, you guessed it, Sony! It's surprising that they would use their tech first, isn't it? ;)

Death to that stupid rumor! TowerJazz did NOT have the needed fabs to make a 45 MP BSI chip at the time of the D850's launch, much less at the time of the camera's development (2014). It's absolutely *impossible* that TowerJazz could've had any hand in the D850.

I use my 5D4 for my family shooting. If I'm at my sons baseball game and I want to take video of him hitting then running to first all I have to do is video and keep the box on him and I can zoom out and it nails focus the entire time he is running. End result is I have great video for future use. All in one package.

Get out of your box and realize the market is much bigger and wider than you and your needs.

Do I want to carry the right tool for the right job everywhere i go? No... Thats the reason cameras like the 5D4 exist. My only complaint is for great audio I need a hotshoe mic and that is kind of cumbersome... oh well. I demand one camera that can do everything good. 5D4 fits that bill and so does a few other cameras.

Events, this is the keyword. On certain conditions (especially on run'n gun conditions), it is quite difficult achieve a precise and smooth autofocus by hand, and it is unnecessary if the camera auto AF works efficiently in video mode.

If a shot is very simple, like a person walking toward the camera, isn't it a lot easier to just let the camera pull focus for you? No need to be all macho and manually crank the focus, that's just silly. I'm all for manual focus when you want a specific look, but for the most basic stuff, why not give yourself a break and let the camera handle that? Only in planned shots should one go full manual as the shots are PLANNED. In unplanned scenes like street shots or documentaries or sports, there's nothing wrong with going with AF. Imagine watching the NFL and all the shots were manually focused. Yeah, that'd be fun...

"You will not see a closeup of a running TD run manually pulled. That's just physically impossible."

Go do some research on how professional TV broadcast and ENG cameras/lenses work.

"I do agree that DSLRs and mirrorless bodies were not designed for video in the first place, but the Sony a7s series showed us that good video capabilities CAN be put in this form factor for $3000."

key word.. GOOD.. that's it.

"I'd love for a Nikon to have great AF abilities, so when I put it in on my Glidecam I can move much closer to my subjects and then move out etc while still maintaining focus as much as possible."

i'm trying to understand how that shot would work without zooming into the subject while you move out. If you're that close you will probably have a wide angle, which stopped down and set to infinity will keep focus on everything... or a tight shot then you walk back which would require focus pulling but then again what type of shot is that?

@visualenvy, I looked into the sports/ENG thing and stand corrected. You were right: these things are hand pulled! I apologize for speaking out of naivety. I assumed that manual focusing was impossible at such high speeds and ran with it. Thanks for the lesson!

The D850 is an extraordinary camera, but I'm not surprised it has some limitations on the video operability front.

I've never been able to make much use of DSLR video until Canon implemented its Dual Pixel Auto-Focus (DPAF) system. Being able to lock and hold autofocus with a tap of the finger on the back LCD has been a very welcome development. Canon gets some grief for being slow on the innovation front, but I don't think their DPAF gets the recognition it deserves.

I am starting to get asked about video, I have never done any for a client yet but when/if I do, I want to use my camera just like a camcorder ie I want to use the EVF hand held and zoom while shooting, I want it to AF properly, I do not want to manual focus, not looking for any fancy effects, I use a Nikon D7200 at the moment which I am pretty sure would not be suitable, DSLRs are not designed for video or LV no matter how hard Nikon etc try it will never be great, Nikons are great still cameras and thats it, if you want/need video and good live view AF, buy something else, I suspect a phone might do better than a Nikon DSLR for basic video

I've been shooting video for 4 years and my advice is don't worry about technical, that's easy. Start retraining your body. To use a video camera handheld, it helps to pretend you're carrying a sleeping infant in your arms while simultaneously balancing a bottle of nitroglycerine on your head. Your movements have to be extremely slow and fluid or your video will look really awful. If you think you're being slow, cut to half that speed. It's taken a couple of years to get it down but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. The other thing is lighting. For video you want to light as little of the scene as possible while at the same time keeping lots of interesting shadows. If everything is the same brightness, your video will look like a cheap game show.

That said, thanks to their wonderful lenses, Nikons are capable of heartbreakingly gorgeous video. When I shoot with my 50mm 1.4G at f/4 or f/5.6 it looks like Paramount Pictures.

Bought a Sony SLT A68 as a backup to my Nikon D7200 , it arrived today), LV focus and video are all great and work just as you need them too.....and it was £428 with a kit lens, none of this manual focus, tripod malarchy

Hence my description that it's: "every bit as bad as you'd expect of a system designed around contrast detection using lenses that weren't. It's jumpy and indecisive, even when asked to pull focus between two stationary objects."

as i have been saying, if only this camera had canon's EF mount for canon lenses that i own i would pick one up in a blink! i won't take a huge loss in selling my EF "L" lenses. i am putting all my hope in the future canon 5Dsrmk2 camera!!!! i am still waiting for D850 to come out and let people use it to see what it is made of and to see if it can set a high bar for other camera companies to measure against!

The secret as it has been explained to me is that the change isn't really very expensive if you replace your used Canon lenses and bodies with used Nikon lenses and bodies. Nikon lenses on the whole have just about the same lifespan as Canon IMHO, so you're not really losing anything in the deal. If you try to sell used equipment and then turn around and replace it with new equipment you'll get killed by the difference in prices.

The problem is finding buyers for an entire set. Most of the time switching systems means only part of the set can be sold off and the cheaper/worse/unique lenses will be left behind, so you still take a hit.

It says "Nikon's best video camera", which is a very low bar. If you want a DSLR form factor video camera the Panasonic GH5 is the top of the heap in terms of video features. (It's actually mirrorless, but the centered EVF and size is like some DSLRs form factor).

@photogeekWhich is the complete opposite of what other sites are saying regarding video quality. There are no oversampling issues, no issues with pixel binning. Although you are correct about the focus confirmation in 4K

Would have been nice to get DPReviews thoughts of how the video files perform against the competition.Especially considering some comments on other Video specific sites that claim that it is class leading:"The image quality in full frame 4K mode is truly incredible, the best I’ve yet seen from any DSLR since the Canon 1D C. I don’t know how it is even possible to do such a clean, detailed image from a 46MP sensor without a full pixel readout. Whatever the method, Nikon have delivered a real technical feat here." (EOSHD)

Dynamic range in video4K WB4K file against Sony and Canon120 fps video file against Sony and CanonColor ScienceMoire against Sony and Canon.

Also absent are the features against the competition:4K HDMI outFocus PeakingZebra Stripes

@SdaniellaHow is that pointless...from a real videography site, they are stating that it is the best video quality out of ANY camera up to the 1DC and maybe even better than the 1DC.I understand that the video focus in LV is not fast, but for most PRO videographers they use manual focus.Ultimately how is the video quality not relevant by comparison to other brands.Isn't image quality relevant or do we only gage video on how fast it focuses and all else be damned even if the output is crap?

It does have 4K HDMI out. And zebra stripes. It only lacks Peaking and only when in 4K mode, while in HD it does do peaking.

The camera seems perfect for video shooters who appreciate the cinematic quality and colour that Nikon has always put out vs Sony/Panasonic. And the missing features have workarounds in the real field, not hard dealbreakers:

I know you are kidding mate .. but even if you are using manual focus for videos .. which I like to do mostly; there is not much assistance ..also no slow-mo ..I prefer dji x7 or even oly em-1 ii over this for video work

You're not going to get much useable AF in video unless...You use a GH5 and keep it away from a row of hedges...Get a Canon C series camera...Some of the Sony aren't super bad....But video usability with stills is really the future.Not there yet.Or maybe a DPAF Canon with STM lenses....

Canon C100 II autofocus is magical—but the face detect only works with Canon's bottom-line STM lenses. It's very peculiar, though their STM lenses are very nice at certain focal lengths and apertures—and awful at others. Sigh....

I think the autofocus on the C series is the best there is and yet still a work in progress.The C200, I think is better than the C100 Mark II but the C200 is still quirky,.EG some report the face detection doesn't seem to like eyeglasses, hats etc.I sigh too.....

The C100II image quality is garbage? Have you ever, ever, ever shot anything on that camera or even talked to anyone who did or even seen a youtube video sample?!

The C100II image quality represents the pinnacle of full HD/1080p image quality, resolving nearly as much as actual 1080p lines! Oversampled very elegantly from one of the best 4K sensors in existence, with huge DR, C-LOG, DPAF, 15 buttons, XLRs, 422 uncompressed HDMI out, and a magically efficient internal AVCHD codec that everyone swears by. Mentioning that it's garbage whilst being the industry-standard HD camera seems more as sarcasm rather than real commenting.

And smartphone? really? Well enjoy making a better video with that higher resolution, higher bitrate camera.

DPAF on the C200 is simply not as sophisticated as it is on the 1DXII and 5DIV strangely. To initiate subject tracking you need to simultanuously press a custom button and touch the object. While it's only a tap on the 1DXII. Plus it's nearly 100% fool proof on the 1DXII/5DIV, on that camera Canon went as far as recognizing the person's cloth colour and body shape with each face-recognition initiated for it not to lose track of his/her face when the subject turns around with his/her face fully obscured from the sensor! And it doesn't lose it. There's also the finer control over AF speed. And touch-and-drag focus capability, all not present on even the latest touch-capable C200.

I think the sensors may play the leading role here, being only 9mp on the C100/C200/C300 while 20-30mp on the 1DXII/5DIV, and the fact that the C200 sensor is older than those sensors too (making its first appearance in the C300II)

It's 4:2:0 8-bit . Not enough colour information to be called a cinema camera nor the be used like one. Yes the sensor is good but not me Canon destroyed it's usefulness by crippling the pipeline to a point that phones have more data to work with.

ESYou have to touch a button that has been custom programmed for object detection on the C200. But you don't have to keep holding it. You can then just the touch screen or joystick to select the object.So touching that button puts the camera into object tracking mode.Then you just select the object.

Gosh, that's the first we've heard about the D850 here on DPReview ... NOT!!

What next? A lengthy article about how nice the strap is? Meanderings (fully illustrated of course) about its original packaging? Personally I'd like to hear more about its shutter button, I mean, does it get wet in the rain? There's scope for so many more D850 articles.

mmx, did you post that in the comments or in a forum? Many have been "punished" in the Sony forums for not being 100% positive and having the audacity to discuss reality. Those who try to discuss the lack of weather sealing or cameras shutting down to overheating are quickly "dealt with". :(

Photo graphic - that shouldn't be the case. We'll try to look into it.

Please bear in mind that the forums are not generally moderated by DPReview staff, they're moderated by volunteers from those forums. It's a difficult job to do and you always end up looking like the bad guy. However, their actions are not dictated by DPReview.

As a still photographer who is interested in upping his D800 plus looking to integrate video work into his arsenal, I found this article interesting. Albeit, it did leave me with the impression this may not be the best choice for my video projects. But as a still camera, it has a lot to offer.

DPR stated that a 2011 Nikon 1 had "fast and accurate phase-detection tracking AF as part of adaptive 'Hybrid' AF system" , but Nikon DSLRs continue to offer worst-in-class contrast detect only Live View AF in their 2017 DSLRs. That doesn't make much sense to me.

In the Nikon 1s case you can actually see the lines with autofocus pixels on certain background so perhaps that was the issue. I suspect they have wanted to keep the image quality as good as possible..

but I wouldn't compromise on image quality (FF, low noise, High DR, flat profile, great tilty screen, 4K detail, no aliasing/moire, crop mode, high detailed 1080p mode, which the D850 seems to cover making it maybe the first Nikon that can be effectively used for serious video production aside/in-place of a Sony A7/Canon C, Gh4, etc...

A sharp small file HD mode with zebras, peaking, good EIS for those old nikkor primes, Nikon colours, 4K HDMI, good quality 3.5mm Mic in and out, huge wonderful cheap native manual lens selection are just the cherries on top...

(If it would just borrorw Canon DPAF for beginners it'd be a lot easier for beginners but then again it's not a beginner camera, an SL2 or M100 would fill that role of auto stabilized, exposed and focused good HD)

"Nikon, you destroyed everyone else in photography" Oh jesus! If you like reading charts while masturbate or do some pixel peeping or even underexpose your photos of 4 stops, well, ok then Nikon DESTROYED everyone! Bum bum! :D

"240fps raw output" well, listen. I have a blackmagic pocket cinema camera, it got a super16 sensor and it easily trumps all the mirrorless and dslr around in terms of quality. The drawback is that is max 30 fps, but I'm ok with that. But the point is: when shooting raw at 30 fps it becomes DAMN HOT. Could you imagine how would it be a raw video from a FF sensor? At 240 fps? I think you could fry eggs on it.

Do you think who buys 30K dollar Alexa to do full format raw is stupid? No. The answer is NO.

We already have Blackmagic with a similar fromat, who would care about dedicated nikon cx raw video camera? However, I think it's so improbable. They don't have the knowledge and technology to develop something up to blackmagic standards (their main competitor). Such a system would need too much effort for the brand, that is, at nowadays, completely uninterested in serious videomaking.

It always amuses me how a newly introduced digital camera is always labeled "the best (whatever brand) ever" and reviewers act like it's a surprise. Shouldn't we reasonably expect the newest digital model to be improved over the digital model it replaced :)Digital isn't like old film cameras where the newest model might NOT be an improvement :)

But this one has a 4x larger sensor. A different look with those lovely Nikkor primes! Early reports indicate lowlight performance to be close to the A7rII 4K, plus dynamic range to be virtually identical to A7rII, so there are those benefits to gain versus a GH5 that complicate matters for me... Plus hey you click the shutter for a MF quality 45mp image any moment!

Actual chart tests confirm 4K resolution to be virtually identical to that of the A7rII in S35 and GH5. In other words excellent. It's most definitely your luck in the sample tests or confusion about sharpness vs resolution or a monitor issue?

Internet Enzyme: I thought so too. It looks fantastic at 1440p on my 13" MBP, but doesn't gain anything going further. Still, the quality of the footage is something else, much closer to a cinema camera than to an HDSLR.

4K on a DSLR without pixelbinning or lineskipping? That's been around since 2011-2012. 1DC, 1DXII, 5DIV, D5, D500, etc

Canon & Sony seem to believe in 1:1 pixel readout rather than over-samspling when they're designing their state of the art cinema sensors they're only 8mp/1:1.

And do you think the oversampling of the a6500 gives it a higher resolving 4K video compared to an FS7II, F5, or F55? Or do you think the fact that there's another APS-C camera that oversamples makes the D850 "not a good video/cinema camera"?

You're confusing sharpness with resolution. Your A6500 is much sharper than the 4K out of the 1DC, yet both are hovering around the same resolving power of about 1700ish lp/tv lines. It's simply that Canon and Nikon don't apply the same amount of sharpening in their video as Sony and Panasonic do. Even Sony's cinema cameras are "soft" much like the Canons/nikons.

Kharan & Internet Enzyme: Judging resolution based on watching two different sample videos just doesn't work. You need a proper resolution chart, which actually shows the D850 resolves just as well as all the modern Sonys & Canons, which one would you believe? One's eyes on a 13" screen watching a YT compressed video sometimes isn't the best judge for resolution.

ALL video-specific reviewers are coming out very impressed with the D850 resolution. Not one comment on resolution or about aliasing/moire.

The spec of D850 is excellent; I trust Nikon will sell a lot. I personally like the D850 for shoting still photos.For making a good movie, the camera and lenses are only a small portion of the story, it needs a team to handle and perform different tasks, like writing the story, lighting control, audio recording and processing.... and so on. It is much more complicated and troublesome than taking a good photo.Unless for business purpose, I am not too concern on the movie spec of a camera since for my personal use, it is just for recording purpose. Besides, the movies are usually just watch once.

Really? This looks pretty crude as electronic stabilization of video goes. The better implementations usually create a smooth trajectory and then align along that, whereas this looks like simple align with previous frame (which is the easiest way to get the live view stabilized -- better methods tend to introduce at least a little time lag).I guess it depends what you're used to. I have a few old compact cameras that do the same thing a bit smoother... and even they look bad to me because I've been using IBIS-based bodies for years.

Many of Nikons lenses have optical stabilization that will work with 4K video. Even some cheaper Nikon lenses have excellent VR like the 24-85mmAF-S VR F3.5-4.5. I fail to see en issue by not having digital VR. Implementing digital VR would mean to skip downsampling from the whole sensor to leave room on the sensor for VR. I prefer that the whole sensor is used for 4K so especially wideangles are not cropped.

What amazes me is how you all continue to let them sell us garbage and still make excuses for them😩

There's no excuse for these companies, they know how to do it. Even a fledgling startup company could do it, but apparently multi-billion dollar companies which ("which" not "that" - you yanks need to learn proper English with your woeful incompetent overuse of the conjunctive "that", and Dpreview is the worst culprit) have been around for decades can't manage proper video performance. Laughable. What they know we need & want is...

To eliminate "jello" has less to do with the CPU and more the image signal processor. There are more pipelines between sensor and "CPU" that causes jello. Cranking up the sensor read-out causes other problems such as overheating, which evident by a certain company, can be persistant problem.

2 - is yes, it has full sensor readout as far as I understand7 - All-I would require a bit rate of 300 to match the perceived quality in 100 IPB according to this source: https://suggestionofmotion.com/blog/panasonic-gh4-setup-compression-methods/Nikon has 144 so assuming this is IP-B it ought to be enough for still shooters that like to add video footage once in a while. The form factor of a dslr is simply not designed for video, so a dedicated video camera would be better in many ways than any DSLR.

Just asking : Does Leica photocamera feature better and/or top notch specs and features for the 4K video fanatic ? If not, can we say it is a real rippoff and bash Leica for their poor and useless devices ?

AF in LV is not only for Video use. There are many occasions I use LV mode to take still shots. it's about convenience. Nikon doesn't understand the concept called convenience i.e. good AF in LV, whats properly implemented WiFI means.

The article points out that users with experience of videography will be familiar with manually focusing. However, for stills photographers needing to quickly switch between stills and video, useable AF would be a benefit.

I think DPR is wrong with this one. The D8xx series can always change aperture in live view. It's the older and less capable Nikon bodies that cannot change aperture once live view is engaged, and the cause is the aperture lever cannot work in this way. My D610 has this behavior, I need to set aperture before starting live view and it will continue to use the same aperture until I quit live view.

It's a legacy mount, designed for mechanical film cameras. The aperture is controlled by a metal lever in the camera which toggles the spring-loaded aperture slider in the lens. When you hit the shutter button, the lever fires up and the aperture instantaneously stops down to the level indicated by the distance the lever moves, before the spring action causes it to snap open again.

As you can probably guess, that's a terrible system for a video camera to rely on for controlling the aperture. In Nikon's "AF-P" lenses, however, the aperture is controlled electronically by a servo motor in the lens making these new lenses much better suited for consumer video.

Yes, my D750 can change aperture settings in live view but it is noisy. Obviously the mechanical aperture linkage between camera and lens was designed long before the advent of using still cameras for video. There may also be issues with vibration (I don't do video so it's speculation.)

It's really a combo of the mount & lenses: Nikon proves this with the "E" & AF-P lenses. The mount itself is technically capable of electronic apertures, but Nikon didn't incorporate this in lens design until fairly recently--starting with tilt-shift lenses roughly 5 years ago.

Non-E lenses (vast majority of F-mount) require 'power aperture', an actuator built into the body that moves a mechanical lever on the back of lenses in 1/6th-stop increments. Expensive & cumbersome: only found on higher-end Nikon bodies & built for backwards compatibility.

Canon switched all lenses to "E" 30 years ago, losing backwards compatibility. Nikon did the opposite.

Canon now has a technically superior mount, which has arguably been the main factor in its recent (decades) dominance: all-electronic coupling, larger throat, shorter flange have helped with things like lens cost & features, fast AF (esp. vs. 90's pre-AF-S), etc.

For clarity (I didn't have space in the article for fine detail). High-end Nikon bodies have motor-driven aperture control and as has been pointed out, the newer lenses now have their own built-in motors. But the mount itself wasn't designed with this in mind, which was a hurdle Nikon is only now overcoming.

The Power Aperture mode (which smoothly drives the aperture between settings) is really good.

@HotPixie: I believe Nikon F & Pentax K are the only current "common legacy" lens mounts (maybe Sony A, but not exactly 'popular'). You can tell, because both Nikon & Pentax have many variations with their mounts for various levels of backwards compatibility.

The scope of this article expanded as I worked on it, and it probably isn't relevant to every D850 user, so I spun it out, rather than delaying the review. We'll be putting in links from the review, though.

More about gear in this article

Dan and Sally Watson over at Learning Cameras put the Nikon D850, Sony a7R III, and Canon 5D Mark IV through their paces, testing all three cameras for everything from skin tones, to dynamic range, to autofocus tracking and more.

It's that time. You, our readers, cast thousands of votes last month in our latest series of readers' polls. Now, with our final poll closed, it's time to see which product takes the crown as your choice for overall winner of 2017.

Latest in-depth reviews

The Fujifilm X-H1 is a top-of-the-range 24MP mirrorless camera with in-body stabilization and the company's most advanced array of video capabilities. We've tested the X-T2's big brother extensively to see how it performs.

Panasonic's Lumix DC-GX9 is a rangefinder-style mirrorless camera that offers quite a few upgrades over its predecessor, with a lower price tag to boot. We've spent the weekend with the GX9 and have plenty of thoughts to share, along with an initial set of sample photos.

Panasonic's new premium compact boasts a 24-360mm equiv. F3.3-6.4 zoom lens, making it the longest reaching 1"-type pocket camera on the market. We spent a little time with it; read our first impressions.

Latest buying guides

Quick. Unpredictable. Unwilling to sit still. Kids really are the ultimate test for a camera's autofocus system. We've compiled a short list of what we think are the best options for parents trying to keep up with young kids, and narrowed it down to one best all-rounder.

Landscape photography isn't as simple as just showing up in front of a beautiful view and taking a couple of pictures. Landscape shooters have a unique set of needs and requirements for their gear, and we've selected some of our favorites in this buying guide.

If you're a serious enthusiast or working pro, the very best digital cameras on the market will cost you at least $2000. That's a lot of money, but generally speaking these cameras offer the highest resolution, the best build quality and the most advanced video specs out there, as well as fast burst rates and top-notch autofocus.

Are you a speed freak? Hungry to photograph anything that goes zoom? Or perhaps you just want to get Sports Illustrated level shots of your child's soccer game. Keep reading to find out which cameras we think are best for sports and action shooting.

At this year's CP+ show in Yokohama, we sat down with senior executives from several major manufacturers, including Canon. Topics of conversation included Canon's ambitions for high-end mirrorless cameras, and the importance of responding to the demands of the smartphone generation.

We were recently able to follow local frame builder Max Kullaway as he created one of his AirLandSea bikes. Here are our picks of the photos we got, as the project progressed from bare tubes all the way to rideable bicycle.

On paper, the Sony a7 III is a tempting option for photographers who've been considering a switch to full-frame mirrorless. But how does its image quality stack up? We compare it to the Mark II and a few of its other peers.

Google Lens uses artificial intelligence and 'computer vision' to identify and provide information about businesses, landmarks and other objects using your phone's camera. And now it's available for iPhone users, too.

In the job posting, the Times' describes this role as "one of the most important and high-profile jobs in visual journalism." If you're looking for a high profile job in photojournalism, you could do a lot worse than being Photo Director at The Gray Lady.

According to a recent report out of South Korea, Samsung is increasing production of its ISOCELL image sensors in a bid towards market leadership for image sensors. To reach this goal, Samsung will have to dethrone current market leader Sony... no small task.

In this video, large format photographer Ben Horne shows off the incredible resolving power of 8x10 slide film by pixel peeping a massive 709.6-megapixel drum scan of one of his landscape shots. And you thought 100MP medium format was big...

Photographer Wendy Teal tells the heart-breaking story of a wedding she shot at a hospital on just 24-hours notice. The mother of the bride had been given one week to live, and Wendy responded to the couple's desperate social media plea for someone to capture their special day.

Syrp has announced the Magic Carpet Pro: a slider that offers filmmakers an 'infinitely extendable' range thanks to built-in track levers that let you connect lengths of track without the use of tools.

At CP+ we sat down with executives from several major manufacturers. Among them was Kenji Tanaka, of Sony, who talked to us about the a7 III as well as its plans to attract more pro shooters – without ignoring APS-C and entry-level customers.

How do you shoot macro photography on an 18x24cm large format wet plate camera? You 'connect' two large format cameras together! That's how wet plate photographer Markus Hofstaetter did it, and you can read about the whole process in this article.

The Fujifilm X-H1 is a top-of-the-range 24MP mirrorless camera with in-body stabilization and the company's most advanced array of video capabilities. We've tested the X-T2's big brother extensively to see how it performs.

Motorsports photojournalist Jamey Price recently flew to Canada with Lamborghini for the car company's Winter Accademia 2018, where clients get to drive the latest Lamborghini supercars on snow and ice. Yes... it is exactly as awesome as it sounds.

For the Pixel 2 smartphone's Motion Photos feature, Google built on its existing Motion Stills technology by adding advanced stabilization that combines software and hardware capabilities to optimize trimming and stabilization.

"After his camera was stolen from his room in the orphanage, he switched to an iPhone for his photography, reasoning that the image quality of a big, heavy camera was less important than the freedom of a cell phone. 'Quality? Screw it, I’d sketch things with a pencil if I could draw,' he wrote in a blog post."

Chinese manufacturer Vivo has announced some AI-powered Super HDR tech to compete with Google's HDR+ system. Both systems combine multiple images to create a final shot with more dynamic range and less noise, but Super HDR claims to do so more intelligently.

The 'semantic image segmentation model' categorizes every pixel in an image and assigns it a label, such as “road”, “sky”, “person” or “dog.” And now, Google has released its latest version as open source, making it available to any developers whose apps could benefit from the tech.

Fuji's latest firmware update for the GFX 50S adds two new features: a focus stacking mode, and a 35mm format mode that takes 30.5MP photos using the center portion of the camera's medium format sensor.

The crash has raised serious questions about 'startling safety gaps' in the doors-off photo tour industry. After a brief safety video, passengers are strapped in with heavy-duty harnesses and given only a knife to cut themselves loose in case of emergency.

For the first time in five years, Adobe is raising the price of some Creative Cloud subscription packages. The good news for photographers: The $10/month CC Photography plan that includes Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, and Lightroom Classic CC will stay the same.